Gholz’s work focuses on issues at the intersection of national security and economic policy. A former Pentagon senior adviser and co-author of two books, Gholz is a proponent of a grand strategy of restraint for the United States. This strategy, he said, “would shift the balance of U.S. intervention away from wealthy and secure parts of the world who could defend themselves … not to be weak or pacifist, but to have a powerful, but not very busy military.”

Because military capabilities play a key role in shaping U.S. defense strategy, Gholz engages with the defense industry directly to better understand how new technologies might develop.

“You’ve got to go out to the factories, and you’ve got to talk to the companies and understand their concerns, like where does the high-quality steel come from?” said Gholz. “If I didn’t have that interaction, I mean, I would just be lost. I couldn’t do what I do.”